Bronson Kurtz

Bronson owns Personalized Technology Services in Woodstock which provides managed services, security and IT support for businesses.  Bronson takes an “always on, always available” approach to IT support.  His high energy can also be seen outside of work within the local community and in the way he pursues his hobbies.  He loves travel, self-improvement, gardening, flying drones, photography, hiking and learning about world history.  Despite his love for work, Bronson is heavily invested as a parent and husband and his family is his very first priority.  That is one of the reasons he loves Woodstock!  Because it’s such a family-friendly place.  So he is always able to grab a drink with anyone in the community and you will often spot him at the networking or community events – usually with his camera.

 

Host Susan Guda with Bronson at The Faces of Woodstock’s “How will you Live” event in February.

 

What inspired you or led you to your current career? 

I started off in construction. My dad owned a construction company when we moved down from New York, so I spent my high school summers and time after school working. Then in 2006, I changed jobs and trained as an electrician where I started to dabble in low voltage networking cables. I remember one day around that time my wife and I started having difficulties with our computer hardware at our home and I spent a WHOLE day trying to fix it.  Finally, I called a friend of mine who knew a lot about computers, and I asked him what he would do.  He solved my problem in about 30 seconds!  In my frustration, I had a “light bulb” moment.  There had to be other people out there having the same trouble.  So I started a business on the side to do computer home repair which was a huge challenge.  It taught me many lessons that I keep with me even now, almost 15 years later.  Through mentoring, hard work and opportunity it has grown into my  IT business.

 

How long have you lived or worked in Woodstock?

I have worked in Woodstock since 2018.

 

At work for his company, Personalized Technology Services.

What made you choose Woodstock?

Well, you know, life just kind of shepherded me here.  I was searching for somewhere with land that wasn’t too far from Roswell/Alpharetta since that’s where my mom and brother were at the time.  A perfect house for my family became available on Zillow.  It was a bankruptcy sale and I only had like an hour to make an offer and get it under contract.  The school we wanted our kids to go to was off Sixes Road and I have clients here in Woodstock.  Then one of our clients had office space become available.  But there’s a story behind that.

In 2014 my parents were out of the country and one morning we got a call that my dad had passed away suddenly in his sleep.  My mom was left overseas alone.  My brother and I scrambled to find flights, but I didn’t even have a passport. It’s all kind of a blur, but one of my clients back then, David Freund, (whose name means “friend” in German, ironically) the owner of The Travel Store in Woodstock, bought my ticket to Germany so that I could get to my mom.  At that point in my life, that act of kindness was worth a million dollars to me!  I was so grateful.

Then, in 2017, David Freund died suddenly, and his wife found herself in an upheaval very familiar to what my family had experienced.  She was left to run the company and had no idea what to do with it. I met her for the first time at his funeral, and she told me she needed my help because I had all the information for the company.  So, I really tried to be there for them during their tragedy and ultimately, she was able to keep the company alive and now it is successful.  That’s who had the tenant space that became available, and it seemed like a great way to go on supporting one another.  So that’s where I am.

Bronson’s father with his son, Roman.

 

What are your favorite restaurants in Woodstock? 

I like unique and local.  In Woodstock, I would pick Century House Tavern and Rootstock & Vine.

 

Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Woodstock?  Who would you like to see nominated as a Face of Woodstock?

There are so many amazing people in Woodstock. Joe Hammonds-Swain is a great example. He is always so kind to people, wanting to get people involved. He’s such an upstanding citizen.  Always has something nice to say about the community.

Also, Mark Caldwell has been a recent mentor and big support to the community for a long time.

 

If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

I would love to go to New Zealand to visit breathtaking landscapes, visit the Shire and see the inspirational volcanoes for Mt. Doom in the J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

 

What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?

I vividly remember watching Lion King in the Theater – it was very traumatic.

I was also a huge Lord of the Rings fan back when it was first produced.  Now that my kids are older, we’ve been watching that on our Family Nights.  It has been pretty cool to watch them get into it.  It’s like I’m seeing it for the first time through them.

Bronson sitting in the Julian Alps of Slovenia.

What advice would you give a crowd of people?

I am trying to learn how to actively listen to others.  I wish I had learned this sooner in life.  Genuine listening is an art.  It’s so helpful to understand that when you talk to someone else, they may have an idea that you don’t know about and they might be right.  I was always trying to let everyone know how much I knew or why I was right.  Now, instead, my goal is, and my advice would be, to listen.

 

What is something on your “bucket list”?

Scuba diving, Sky Diving, and to visit an active volcano!

 

What is your favorite music/ three bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?

I would love to see Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer and Bassnectar in concert.

  

Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch?  Why?  Where in Woodstock would you have lunch?

Since I lost my dad and that loss is still most severe, I would choose him.  Since my Dad loved to cook, we would probably cook something fun and amazing.  My two daughters love to cook too, so I imagine them all cooking together and being proud of what they can do together.  Brings me to tears.

OR

I have a good friend named Beau Bryson over in Roswell.  He’s in his 77 now.  He was an actual rocket scientist who worked on the Saturn V rocket at NASA in his youth.  I don’t get to spend as much time around him as I’d like to. And when do, the conversation is excellent.   I think he would enjoy Salt Factory and I would order a vegan burger.

Bronson & the Kurtz family.

What is your favorite thing or something unique about Woodstock?

I like the small-town community feel.

 

Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

 So much has changed in the last six years.  I sometimes feel like an entirely new man.  I’d like to continue that evolution.  I’d like my company to have a couple more “work-family” members.  I’d like it to be well established with running like a machine that powers my other pursuits in life which include travel and outreach.  I also have some other business ideas I could run while in different countries.

 

(Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

I’m scared of heights.

 

 What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

Safe, Family, Adventure

 

If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?

Tom Hardy

 

If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, Housekeeper, Driver, Coach, Physical Fitness Trainer, or Nanny?

I have all those things in my amazing wife.  Well, except for a driver.  That I do for myself.

Bronson with his wife.

Bronson Kurtz in Community

You can find him through his company Personalized Technology Services in Woodstock, on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Jennifer Seliski, Phox Realty Group, LLCwould love your Faces nominations.

One Comment

  • Kathy Freund

    April 7, 2020 at 8:38 am

    What an excellent and insightful article on my dear friend and neighbor, Bronson Kurtz! I applaud both you for the interesting layered questions forcing a deeper pull from the inside to answer those questions well. But kudos must go out to Bronson for being honest despite the pain, realizing the source of his happiness and devotion to his beautiful family and for displayIng a more raw side to his humanity. Reading Bronson’s generous words about his relationship with my late husband, David Freund, and now with me, reminds me to ALWAYS take the hand that reaches out and never miss an opportunity to do the right thing especially when it involves someone else. We are a social community and thrive better when we can lean on and learn from the connectedness of the Woodstock Work Web. Every hand we clasp has the potential to become the next strand to lengthen and strengthen who we are and how we continue to be as we grow forward. I’m proud to have Bronson as a neighbor, my IT guy, and most importantly as my friend.

    Reply

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